Category: Potatoes

Cavendish Farms has announced plans to spend at least $350 million on a new frozen potato processing facility in Lethbridge. Robert K. Irving, co-CEO of J.D. Irving Limited and president of Cavendish Farms, was in southern Alberta to make the announcement alongside Ag Minister Oneil Carlier, local MLAs Shannon Phillips and Maria Fitzpatrick, and Lethbridge… Read more »

Syngenta’s SeedCare Institute is officially setting up shop in Canada. The company’s Canadian facility, located at its Honeywood research facility in Plattsville, Ontario, is now part of a network of 12 centres of excellence around the globe, focusing on advancing seed treatment technology and innovation. At the official launch last week, Anja Pires, Syngenta Global… Read more »

Potato growers have a new weapon in their fight against late blight, the crop’s most devastating fungal disease. Last month, Syngenta Canada launched Orondis Ultra, a new fungicide that promises to deliver up to 21 days of residual control for late blight in potatoes. The product is registered for control of oomycete diseases caused by… Read more »

A good story can be told about potato production in Canada. It rose more than 4.5 per cent in 2015 over the previous year. Half of the new production came from Manitoba, with about another third coming from Quebec. That production increase didn’t hurt McCain Foods Canada’s decision in January to expand its Carberry, Manitoba… Read more »

“I am the greatest botanist on this planet,” declares Matt Damon’s character in 20th Century Fox’s new blockbuster “The Martian.” Astronaut Mark Watney (played by Damon) is stranded on Mars, able to survive by growing potatoes for food. Several Earth-bound scientists who are members of the Crop Science Society of America shared their thoughts on the portrayal… Read more »

On May 21, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers of a possible food tampering situation where needles and nails appeared to be showing up in potatoes, primarily in our Atlantic provinces. And this week, the growing concern of food and farm tampering was on the agenda, as federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers converged… Read more »

A day after National French Fry Day, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced a $1.4 million investment in potato yield research through Potatoes New Brunswick on Tuesday. The AgriInnovation Program funding will be used to identify factors that limit potato yields as part of a national effort to boost “the export competitiveness of Canadian French fries.” “The stakes for… Read more »

The Canadian government has announced $1.83 million for an research project involving international partners looking at potatoes and potato pests at a genetic level. Parliamentary Secretary Gerald Keddy, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced the funding Fredericton on Tuesday. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, researchers will use new data about the DNA… Read more »

In 1996, Jacob van der Schaaf, a Dutch immigrant to Canada, and his daughter Angela Santiago planted a small, one-acre plot of potatoes just outside Edmonton, Alberta. It was an experiment meant to test the waters of the potential potato market in Alberta, and was obviously an overwhelming success. Today, Jacob runs Tuberosum Technologies and Angela is the… Read more »

Syngenta Canada has received approval for registration of Cruiser Maxx Potato Extreme seed treatment in Canada. This all-in-one, liquid pre-mix delivers a concentrated formulation for convenient use and provides reliable protection from seed-borne diseases and early-season insects, Syngenta says. “This new liquid pre-mix formulation provides growers with the ability to target both disease and insect… Read more »

Not every new product that hits the market is a major innovation. Many are just tweaks on existing products to try to add a bit of extra convenience or a slight change in formulation. Sometimes though, these little tweaks really make a difference. BASF’s new Cabrio Plus fungicide falls into this latter category. Cabrio Plus… Read more »